Guyanese Teacher Training College

Many teachers in Guyanese indigenous communities are not properly qualified because access to schooling is difficult and the quality of the education limited. Until now, the opportunity to upgrade their education was almost non-existent. In one district alone, more than 72 percent of the teachers were unqualified. They had neither completed secondary education, nor received teacher training. Not surprisingly, this also means that student achievement levels remained low.

Through an innovative program funded by the Canadian International Development Agency and designed in close collaboration with the Guyanese Ministry of Education, teachers in remote regions of Guyana received the education they needed to obtain secondary school equivalency and, subsequently, their teaching certificate.

More than 1380 teachers and 1256 education managers have now upgraded their skills and received training. This means they are better equipped to improve low student achievement and increase the percentage of students who complete primary school in Guyana, and contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education.

With assistance from the Quebec firm CRC Sogema, the Guyanese Teacher Training College developed and provided training modules in core subjects such as: English, practical science, history, social science, geography and mathematics. The modules contain study guides, work sheets, exercises and other support materials to help the teacher trainees master the required information and skills. They were sent to the trainees by planes, boats and trucks. The trainees worked through the materials on their own and then once a month, travelled to a regional Learning Resource Centre for face-to-face tutorials. There were between 4 and 10 tutors per subject. As well, mentors in each community were chosen to support and encourage trainees.

http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/acdi-cida.nsf/eng/EMA-21812658-N6J

Profile page for CIDA project: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/cidaweb/cpo.nsf/projEn/A020252001